Review: Saun & Starr, The Lantern

This would have been a lesson for any X Factor wannabes had they been there. As it was, a noticeably more mature audience got the chance to appreciate the sheer star quality that has enabled New York vocalists Saun & Starr to release a debut album after 30 years hard work as backing singers. Hooking up with Sharon Jones – herself something of a late developer – and the R’n’B revivalist Daptone label in New York finally provided a natural home for their classic soul voices and the resulting album Look Closer benefitted from the meticulous production of label founder Gabriel Roth. 

And now here they were, Saun and Starr, touring Europe in their own right and clearly revelling in some well-deserved limelight finally coming their way and, if the big steps onto the Lantern stage were a little challenging they were managed with consummate dignity and a discreet sisterly helping hand. Once onstage it was another story, however – here were two live-wire performers completely on top of their material and absolutely determined to put on a great show, as well as two great friends completely at ease with each other, the band and the audience. 

The set was a fine mix of styles, from the snappy upbeat Hot Shot to the powerful slow ballad If Only and the reggae-informed Gonna Make Time. The women swapped vocal duties easily, their contrasting voices giving each song a real character, while at any moment they could become a tight backing duo as they did on the superbly crisp Blah Blah Blah Blah, a fine rejoinder to an uppity man. Look Closer brought the best out of the young besuited band, a classic Blaxploitation disco sound with crisp guitar and punchy horns, and this in turn gave Saun and Starr the chance to stretch their vocal chops, producing added drama without any sense of contrivance.

There was a similarly artless sincerity to a short gospel interlude, beginning with a completely acappella Down By The Riverside and then a chilling reading of Sweeping Through The City with just bass guitar accompaniment. Sandwiched between uptempo R’n’B it could have seemed disjointed but so aptly did it fit the two singers’ style that it clearly belonged where it was.

Things ended in fine style, too, with an encore version of Big Wheel, another sassy slap down to a useless feller (’Too much, too loud, too drunk. too early’) delivered with all the energy of the opening number. But that shouldn’t have come as a surprise – these ladies certainly don’t lack staying power. And while they have great voices and a deep understanding of soul music the key to the whole thing is their absolute naturalness. Just for once in these marketed times these are real people with real talent who really deserve to become real stars.